The present invention relates generally to thermal imagers. More particularly, the invention relates to a thermal imager having a mechanism for protecting internal components from damage due to sunlight and other high energy radiation sources.
Thermal imaging cameras are widely used in a variety of applications, such as predictive maintenance in industrial facilities. While past imagers often utilized a scanning technique, modern imagers generally incorporate an infrared (IR) focal plane array (FPA) for producing the thermal image. Focal plane arrays have many advantages, such as the speed at which successive images can be produced for display.
One drawback of current focal plane arrays is their susceptibility to damage when exposed to high radiation sources such as sunlight. For example, a user may inadvertently damage the focal plane array (and thus the overall imager) by waving the imager's lens in a direction toward the sun. Thus, a need exists to provide methods of protecting the focal plane array from sunlight exposure.